Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023.
Tributes are pouring in for American actor James Van Der Beek, who died on Wednesday, 11 February.
The 48-year-old Dawson’s Creek star had been battling colon cancer since 2023.
His family confirmed his death in a statement released on Wednesday.
“Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” the statement said.
“He met his final days with courage, faith and grace.”
The family added that they request privacy as they mourn their “loving husband, father, son, brother and friend”.
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Cancer diagnosis
Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2023. He publicly shared his diagnosis in November 2024.
At the time, he said he had been dealing with the illness privately and was “taking steps to resolve it”.
He also posted a video on his birthday last year on Instagram, opening up about what cancer had taught him.
“I had to look my own mortality in the eye. I had to come nose to nose with death,” he said in the video, adding that it had been the toughest year of his life.
He later spoke about the diagnosis in an interview with TODAY, saying he was shocked by the news.
“I was so healthy, was in amazing cardiovascular shape,” he said. “I had stage 3 cancer and had no idea.”
He said his symptoms included changes in bowel habits and a feeling that something was wrong, but nothing urgent.
“Nothing that made me think, ‘Oh, I’ve got to run to a doctor right now,’” he said.
After requesting a colonoscopy, Van Der Beek recalled waking from the procedure when the doctor told him, “It is cancer”.
“I went into shock,” he said. “I really don’t think I knew what to do. Neither did my wife.”
Tributes pour in for James Van Der Beek
Fans and fellow actors have since shared tributes on social media, remembering Van Der Beek for his work.
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